Monthly Newsletters - August 2023

Discover YOUR Talent this Fall in Music, Dance, or Acting!

Dear Students and Parents,

Usually, mornings are fairly quiet at our 3 campuses in Covington, Harahan, and Mandeville. Today is wonderfully different though, because as I’m writing this, the window to my studio is a bit foggy with a nose, two curious little eyes, and a big smile peering through. As I wave good morning, I’m also being serenaded with the sounds of Duke Ellington’s “C Jam Blues” in the room next door. Ah yes, the sounds of learning are in full swing all day every day here at LAAPA this summer! In another room across from me, our beginning band featuring a full ensemble of flutes, trumpets, tubas, and drums is learning their first song together. None of them have played these instruments before, and yet on Friday, they will perform their first simple song together! In another room, students are working on ukulele, another room is violin class, yet another is piano improv class where the blues happen daily (sunglasses are always optional but welcomed). The acting class is creating their own commercials and the dance classes are perfecting their leaps and spins in ballet and hip hop.

 

Speaking of loud sounds, summer camp can sometimes be quite a cacophony with 30 students at a time learning new instruments! Honestly, though, we wouldn’t have it any other way! The opportunity for students to discover their talent and see what instruments or programs interest/come naturally to them is life changing!

 

Summer Camp always reminds me of the openness of young beginners who are not afraid of trying new things to discover their talent.

 

It’s important to realize that what usually begins with lots of energy and excitement, banging around the on the piano, or squeaking away on the clarinet, or even jumping up and down on the bed at home, will eventually (through weekly lessons, practice, and dedication) be transformed into something amazing in a lifetime appreciation of the performing arts!

 

I’ll use myself as an example. Since my mom started our school over 46 years ago, I pretty much grew up around music lessons and had the incredible opportunity to try out many instruments – first in the back of our house in the early 80’s, and then at our first school above Village Inn Pizza in River Ridge... Mmm, I can still smell that pizza!

 

Some of you may be shocked to hear this, but as a kid, I was pretty full of energy and kind of the “music school clown / know it all”. I really loved coming to classes, but I had a funny way of showing it to my teachers. In my piano lessons, I’d have an excuse each week for not practicing (thanks for hanging in there with me anyway Mr. Russell). In my violin ensemble, I’d use extra rosin to ensure maximum creakiness on the strings and sometimes initiate a bow fight with my brother or sister who were also in our class (sorry about that Ms. Bobbie). The daughter of my trumpet teacher once mentioned that I was a “topic of discussion” at the dinner table – I’m guessing that wasn’t in a good way and not sure if tears were involved (my bad Mr. Jay). I’d like to publicly apologize to all of my former teachers if I caused any stress in your lives – I’m really grateful for your patience and everything I learned!

 

I’d also like to give a shoutout to substitute teachers while I’m at it. For those of you who skip lessons when you have a substitute, you are missing out! One of the best lessons I ever had as a kid was with a substitute who had his Ph.D. in piano performance. I only had him for that one class, so I didn’t get his name, but he was the “piano doctor.” I recall that we were learning a basic intermediate piano piece out of an Alfred book at the time and he played through it for me as it was written. Then he said, “…but playing it like this would be a lot more fun…” and he proceeded to improvise an incredible arrangement that made my jaw drop. That was easily one of the most inspiring music lessons of my life. I couldn’t believe someone could just play and improvise something like that on the spot.

 

Fast forward to years later – I mostly stopped goofing off (in public at least), and I ended up with an undergraduate degree in Jazz Piano from Loyola University New Orleans (which involves lots of improvisation obviously) and a Master of Music degree in Studio/Jazz composition from the University of Miami.

 

Obviously not every student will decide to pursue the arts full time as a career, but our mission here is the same as it was 46 years ago, which is to lay a solid foundation within the lives of our students to allow them to explore and discover their talent which will ultimately offer them a lifetime appreciation of the performing arts.

 

One of my favorite things to do now is play the piano in our living room at home for relaxation (if I can get some bench time that is – it’s pretty competitive lately in my house with 4 kids enrolled in piano lessons). This is something anyone can enjoy with some training – no degrees required, and there’s just something about taking that time out that’s a relief from everything else going on. When I sit down at the piano, I tend to improvise a lot based on whatever is in my head. It’s incredibly freeing, and I highly recommend learning about improvisation either in music or dance at some point. Many of our faculty members are now offering free workshops that you can sign up for that include these types of classes, and all of our dance students enrolled in 1 or more classes can attend an Improv/Choreography class for free each week!

 

At any rate, I would never have reached this point in my playing if I wasn’t able to have the discovery time years ago to explore my interests. My time to explore music just happened to be as a child, but as adults, we should never stop exploring and must embrace our inner child so that we don’t worry about making mistakes or possibly embarrassing ourselves when learning something new.

 

My years of discovery, training, and hard work have additionally afforded me with the skills to create something incredibly important to my family - silly theme songs written for each of my kids. They seem to love them, and no you probably can’t get me to sing or play them for you. When I start playing these tunes, the kids are almost always inspired to play too! My son Benjamin will hop on the drums in his room (which is just down the hall so we can still hear each other), Patrick may fire up his keyboard, and Lucy may grab her guitar or violin, and Eleanor usually accompanies on her kiddie tom drum or starts dancing immediately and creating choreography.

 

If you missed out on discovering your talent this summer, never fear, because fall is literally right around the corner, and registration for Fall 2023 is now available in person or online at laapa.com for the Back To School Season! Former students, if you took the summer off and are ready to get back into the groove, we encourage you to give us a call now! While the majority of our most popular classes and private lesson times have remained booked throughout the summer, it’s possible that your previous teacher may have an opening or two, but they won’t last long. We are also pleased to welcome several new amazing faculty members who we know you’ll be equally excited to work with should your old teacher be unavailable!

 

Music, dance, and drama truly are gifts that I want all of our current families and future families to enjoy together, and you can do this regardless of your background or years of experience. Remember that everyone was once a beginner! A love of the performing arts and the willingness to invest in it together as a family is the most important thing.

 

~ Ryan Cullen, Executive Director, Mischievous Music Student, Practice Evasionist, & Creator of Silly Theme Songs

Discover Your Talent This Summer - Learn to PLAY-DANCE-SING-ACT!

At LAAPA, we offer the most comprehensive Music & Dance Program in the Greater New Orleans area with three campuses located in Covington, Harahan, and Mandeville. For over 40 years, we’ve provided lessons to tens of thousands of students in Piano, Guitar, Voice, Violin, Drums, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Tap, Brass, Woodwind, Bands, Preschool Music, and more!

Covington: 985-590-4545
Mandeville: 985-674-2992
River Ridge: 504-738-3050

Enroll Today!

Calling all Singers, Dancers, and Actors!

Join us this Winter for our production of Annie Jr.

 

Learn more and book your audition today at laapa.com/anniejr!

Send Us Your News!

We love getting your news, success stories and comments. If you'd like to share your news with us, please e-mail at studentnews@laapa.com. Please note that we publish our newsletters monthly, and if you don't see your submission in this edition, it will be published as soon as space is available! Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/laapaface, youtube.com/laapatube, and now on Twitter at @laapatweets.

Recording Studio

Our recording studio is located at the Mandeville campus and features a 32 track ProTools system, 4k video cameras, premium mics and equipment. Click the button below to learn more, schedule a studio tour or Book Your Session today!

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Happy August Birthdays!

We'd like to wish the following Students a very Happy Birthday this Month!

AJ S. (14) , Alecsander C. (19) , Alexandra B. (6) , Allan C. (13) , Alvin L. (11) , Amanda B. , Anna D. (12) , Anya D. (17) , Archer C. (3) , Benjamin V. (15) , Braeden L. (13) , Brennan S. (14) , Brynn H. (17) , Cailah F. (13) , Cambrie N. (10) , Camille A. (7) , Carla C. , Caroline G. (4) , Carson M. (12) , Chase A. (10) , Chase C. (11) , Christopher B. (17) , Daci B. (2) , Darren S. (12) , David L. , Dayana T. (19) , Eleanor H. (5) , Elizabeth E. (12) , Ellie E. (16) , Elliot H. (8) , Ethan P. (5) , Eva D. , Evangeline W. (13) , Finnigan B. (7) , Grant W. (7) , Greer Grey W. (3) , Hannah S. (11) , Harper C. (8) , Harper P. (2) , Hunter M. (8) , Isaac G. (15) , Isabella C. (10) , Jack V. (22) , Jackson O. (11) , Jacqueline L. (4) , James C. (7) , Jaxon P. (8) , JD G. (12) , Joseph O. (9) , Julia B. (12) , Julia C. (12) , Julianne G. (4) , Julie L. , Juliet W. (4) , Kaia S. (9) , Kate W. (8) , Katherine C. (12) , Katherine W. (4) , Kathryn B. (10) , Kayleigh M. (16) , Kenna O. (7) , Kiara L. (15) , Kingston J. (8) , Kinsley S. (11) , Layla M. (8) , Leighton P. (9) , Leliana G. (2) , Leo J. (8) , Leonte C. (14) , Lex O. (8) , Lia M. (15) , Lizzie T. (10) , Locke B. (9) , Lucas B. (8) , Lucy D. (7) , Lynae T. (5) , Madeleine M. (4) , Madelyn Q. (5) , Makenna H. (7) , Mary D. (14) , Matthew M. (24) , MattieJai C. (5) , Maven S. (4) , Mayari R. (10) , Maybell S. (11) , Melissa D. , Micah D. (13) , Michael C. , Michael M. (7) , Myah M. (13) , Nai B. (6) , Nora E. (12) , Nora S. (8) , Nuhiah T. (7) , Oliver H. (10) , Olivia H. (6) , Olivia W. (9) , Parker T. (18) , Peighton L. (16) , Phoebe D. (8) , Ray Z. (13) , Riaan G. (7) , Riaya J. (9) , Rob D. , Rose M. (4) , Sami S. (25) , Santiago P. (6) , Savanna Z. (11) , Sawyer S. (10) , Sophia D. (13) , Stephen F. (9) , Summer L. (9) , Travis G. , Tripp W. (17) , Victoria C. (11) , Vivi B. (12) , Wylie S. (8) , Yasmine A. (14) , Yhsabel M. (17) , Zachary B. (10) , Zehra B. (14)

Video of the Month - "Beginning Piano Lessons on "Great Day Louisiana" | Piano Lessons in New Orleans, LA"

LAAPA Faculty members Mr. Nicoli and Dr. Vera were recently featured on WWL TV Channel 4's "Great Day Louisiana" program with host, Malik Mingo, and provided him with his first piano lesson! This is clip 1 of 2!

 

By the end of the show they were all playing a song together!

 

Important Dates

Take a moment to review the following upcoming dates:

New Artwork by Michaela Howell

We are very fortunate to work with local artist Michaela Howell. Many of her paintings and art are on display at all three of our school campuses!

Michaela recently brought in new artwork that can be viewed at both of our Northshore campuses. The beautiful piece above is available for purchase at our Mandeville location for $850

Interested in purchasing art from Michaela? Inquire at the front desk!

With down home country humble beginnings Michaela has always been very resourceful. She cuts, sands, primes, paints, and in some cases stains her abstract versions of the wooden instruments, creating very hands-on works of art. This resourcefulness has “Played” out very nicely in her most current work. Though the recycling of varying musical instrument components including guitar strings, violin knobs, music sheets featuring the instrument showcased, Michaela portrays a ‘current’ sense of style combined with a very vivid color pallet, creating a symphony for the senses!

View More!

Student Spotlight - Spencer Johnson

This month’s Student Spotlight showcases Mandeville School of Music & Dance student Spencer Johnson. She takes piano and voice with Ms. Emma, guitar with Mr. Ben, and acting with Ms. Rachael.

Outside of LAAPA, Spencer likes to cook and watch tv. She likes pop music, and her favorite artist is Dua Lipa. When she gets older, Spencer wants to be an actress!

Spencer likes taking lessons at LAAPA because LAAPA offers a variety of programs for students to choose from. Spencer really enjoys participating in plays and other performance showcases. Thanks to LAAPA, Spencer has learned about music theory.

Thanks for being a part of the LAAPA family, Spencer! We love having you as a student here!

A HUGE welcome to our newest students who began lessons or added programs in June!

We are so happy that you’ve chosen to study at LAAPA. We know you will do great things this year!